Truth is stranger than fiction

Book review Title: The Dead Author: James Joyce Genre: Novella/Short story The Dead is one of those literary short story pieces that is long enough to be considered as a novella.  The story is set in Dublin at an annual dance party hosted by the protagonist’s aunts. Our protagonist is Gabriel who is a book reviewer and teacher. He is about to give a speech which he fears would not be understood by the audience at the party. We see awkward encounters and heated arguments. But the turning point of the story is Gabriel’s wife’s shocking revelation about the past that takes him by surprise.  Joyce’s descriptions of the people and food lend to the themes that are touched upon in the story. The prose is achingly beautiful and haunting, especially in passages that highlight music and the snow. Interestingly both are silent characters in itself especially snow which results in Gabriel’s epiphany. It also results in eradicating the class divide that is quite prominent throughout the st...

Book review Title: The Woman in the purple skirt Author: Natsuko Imamura Genre: Fiction/Translation (Japanese) The Woman in the purple skirt is a compelling novel about two women, bordering on obsession.  We have our narrator who refers herself as the woman in the yellow cardigan. She develops a fascination for the woman in the purple skirt. She believes that everyone notices this woman in the same manner that she does. She makes a note of her routine, little details and even lures her into a job at the same hotel where she works. Things take a turn when some objects go missing and the woman is suspected of having an affair with her boss. Written in first person, the narrator often comes across as unreliable. Occasionally there is a usage of third person when the narrator compares herself with the woman in the purple skirt. It’s interesting to note that the narrator never interacts with this woman but merely observes her.  At first there is nothing much going on in the story. ...

Book review Title: Days of Abandonment  Author: Elena Ferrante Genre: Fiction/Translation (Italian) Days of Abandonment tells the story of a woman named Olga whose husband decides to abandon her after 15 years of marriage for a younger woman.  Olga is shattered when Mario leaves her and their two children.  It gives an insight into Olga’s descent into despair, distress and losing touch with reality. She loses track of her responsibility, spends days trapped inside her apartment, reflects her past, her loss of identity and individuality. It remains to be seen if she picks up threads of her life and moves on from this traumatic experience.  One thing that stands out in the book is the voice of Olga’s character. Narrated in first person from her point of view, there is a raw honesty while describing her feelings and emotions. You feel for her as she is trying to comes to terms with her present situation where she deals with false friends, her deteriorating self confiden...

  Book Review   Title: The Blind Owl Author:  Sadegh Hedayat Genre: Translation (Persian)     The Blind Owl chronicles a man’s descent into madness and deterioration. We have our unnamed narrator who appears as though he is making a confession to himself-an owl shaped shadow on the wall. The narrative is pretty unique as it appears like two stories. The first one comprises of repeated imagery and has a resemblance to Kafka’s writings. The second story is in italics font which tells the story of an opium driven man, his childhood, past experiences and mourning over the woman he lost. It reminds you of Old Rosa by  Reinaldo Arenas .  Written in first person, the narrator delves into ruminations of life and death, loss of loss, marriage, separation and sex. Throughout the story, you find yourself spiraling deeper and deeper into the stream of consciousness of the narrator. There is an eeriness about this entire story, right from its setting to the ch...

It was after a long time that a movie has piqued my interest. Some of the recent ones have been disappointing and made me give up half way. War movies are usually a hit or miss. So it was refreshing to see Shershaah falling under the category of the top five films of 2021. In fact, in my opinion its probably the best I've seen so far. Unless some other movie manages to create a similar effect by end of the year.  Shershah traces the life of Indian army Captain Vikram Batra who was awarded the Param Air Chakra for his valor displayed during the 1999 Kargil War. It was one of the toughest wars considering how the enemy was at an advantageous position, not to mention at dizzying heights. We get a peek into his life-born to parents who are teachers, falling in love with a Sikh girl, his earnestness to join the army, tackling several missions and his promotion in the middle of the war. The war sequences are well directed and the film boasts of some good performances.  Actor Siddhar...

Book Review   Title: Shoko’s smile Author: Choi Eunyoung Genre: Short stories/Translation (Korean)   Shoko’s smile is a collection of 7 stories of Korean Women whose lives have been heavily impacted by ghosts of their past and some political events.    In the first story, we have the narrator Soyu who reflects on her friendship with a Japanese exchange student. Then we have a Korean woman who forms a deep connection with a Kenyan man. At some point their relationship goes awry and the narrator is unable to derive the reason for this. We have an ailing grandmother who reminisces about her granddaughter, a woman whose life is destroyed when her husband is thrown into prison for spying and then two families whose relationship gets marred over a heated discussion on the Vietnam war.   The writing is beautiful and tender. The emotions are raw, painting a vulnerable picture of characters. Perhaps this realistic portrayal of their lives is what makes them relatable to ...

  Book Review   Title: Heaven Author: Mieko Kawakami Genre: Literary Fiction   Heaven is a disturbing and painful portrayal of two adolescents who are subjected to bullying. We have our 14-year-old protagonist who is tortured and tormented by his classmates for having a lazy eye. He is kicked, hit, shoved into lockers and forced to eat chalk. And yet our narrator chooses to endure such taunts silently. He is lonely and longs for love and affection. When Kojima- a classmate of his who is also another outcast sends him notes, he begins to cherish that correspondence. Their exchange of notes blooms into a friendship. In each other they find comfort and solace from the pain of being misfits in the society.    The story is narrated in first person from the point of view of the 14-year-old boy. The language is simple in some parts and poetic in places where she blends nature’s descriptions with the emotions of the characters. We get to understand both characters'...

Book Review  Title :  How the one-armed sister sweeps her house Author: Cherie Jones Genre: Literary Fiction    When a book starts off with a grandmother’s cautionary tale about a girl having lost one of her arms in a forbidden tunnel, it hooks you right away and compels you to read further.    How the one-armed sister sweeps her house is an intense debut novel set in Barbados in the 1980s. The story starts off with a murder on Baxter Beach and how several character’s lives are connected to it. We have Whalen-a wealthy tourist’s widow, Adan-a professional thief who murders him and a detective investigating the case. Amidst all this is the central character-Lala who is trapped in an abusive marriage like her dead mother and has a grandmother who refuses to address her by her name. Things become worse for Lala after her baby’s death and the appearance of her former flame-Tone. The book goes on to explore how Lala deals with the torrid circumstances and tries ...

2 years since I did my last triathlon. How much has changed since then. And yet some things haven’t. The ocean remained as placid as ever. West Cliff Drive with quaint and posh houses on one side and views of the pristine blue pacific on the other was as beautiful as ever. The salty air of Santa Cruz and the effervescent vibe hadn’t changed. Depot park was bustling with energy on race morning. How I missed all this. Santa Cruz has always been a special place. This is the same place where I began my journey as a triathlete four years ago. A journey that I penned down in my book  A Turbulent Mind .  I reached transition at 6:45 am. 90 mins before my race began. After collecting my packet comprising of my bib and timing chip, I headed towards an empty spot to set up my things. I spotted a few familiar faces and waved. I smiled at the unknown faces as well.     Some of them were doing a triathlon for the first time and others were seasoned. Yet the nervousness prevailed....

That arch, the swarming crowds, volunteers, bib pick up stalls, excited chatter, infectious smiles, pleasant greetings and the photographers. Everything felt so familiar. So why did I feel like a kid in the candy store? Why did I look around with this inexplicable sense of delight? My eyes big and bright. My grin like the Cheshire cat. I pinched myself twice and yelped much to the chagrin of a few runners. It wasn’t a dream, I told myself. And yet I lost count of the number of times I must have dreamt about being in such a scenario.    16 months! When I ran the scenic Napa Valley half marathon in March 2020, little did I realize that the world would come to a standstill. The lockdown and the deadly virus almost made running events look like a distant dream. Death came knocking on several doors, lives were gone in a jiffy, hope was lost. Mental health issues took over. It almost appeared like people would succumb to depression more than the virus. I was no exception.   ...

Book Review   Title: The Ladies Midnight swimming club Author: Faith Hogan Genre: Literary Fiction    Set in the Irish countryside, The Ladies midnight swimming club is the story of three different women who are at different stages in their lives.    When Elizabeth’s husband dies leaving behind a huge debt, she turns to her friend Jo for help. Jo calls her daughter Lucy from the city to save Elizabeth from bankruptcy. Lucy is divorced with a son and is in a dilemma whether to leave her old life behind and start afresh in a small town. Circumstances bring the women closer until Jo discovers a shocking secret. In order to find solace, all the three women resort to taking midnight dips in the Irish sea. The water envelops them into a healing embrace, washing away their fears, sorrow and also helps them come up with an idea for a fund raiser.   The story is narrated in third person from the point of view of several characters-Elizabeth, Lucy, Jo, Lucy’s son and...